Kroger Declares Reed a Sanctuary College

We steadfastly support all members of our community regardless of their immigration status.

President John R. Kroger today declared Reed to be a sanctuary college.

I hereby declare that Reed College is a sanctuary college for the purposes of immigration. We steadfastly support all members of our community regardless of their immigration status.

As a sanctuary college, Reed will not assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the investigation of the immigration status of our students, staff, or faculty absent a direct court order.

In addition, Reed College does not discriminate in admission on the basis of immigration status. We meet the full financial need of all admitted students, including undocumented students. This means we provide institutional financial aid to make up for the federal aid that these students are unable to apply for, such as Pell Grants.

As you may know, Portland is a sanctuary city and Multnomah is a sanctuary county. We’re proud of that fact. If for some reason that designation changes, it will not alter our policy.

If you have additional thoughts about how to support our undocumented students, please contact Santi Alston, deputy Title IX coordinator.

Dean Alston is developing a list of resources for students with concerns about their immigration status and has volunteered to serve as a point of contact for those students. Reed is also developing protocols to respond to potential inquiries from ICE.

“We will continue to demonstrate in the most unambiguous ways possible that Reed stands by all of our students, staff and faculty, and in particular those who have been historically marginalized,” says Mike Brody, vice president for student services. “That’s true now, and it will be true in the uncertain times to come.”

Editor's Note: In our eagerness to post this news, we forgot to make clear that declaring Reed a sanctuary college was one of the demands of the student protestors who occupied offices in Eliot Hall in November.